Guild Wars 2

(I promise I’ll stop being a cornball after this)

So you got an event coming up, everyone is expecting you to bring your best but.. You’re at a loss What build to try on? Do you mix Dueling with Illusions or go with the Chaos/Inspiration style? Fear not, fashionistas, there is an easy solution to all your Mesmer build woes:

DOMINATION & DUELING GO WITH EVERYTHING

Now before you smugly turn your face to the side, flutter your mesmery lashes and go “pfft, yet another pvp thread” you may want to turn your face to the other side and take notice that this rule also applies for PvE and PvP. The redesigned Domination/Dueling line comes with everything a Mesmer need to be both stylish and effective on the battlefield, even if you’re not really sure what kind of look you’re going for.

PvE
In open-world PvE you can honestly make anything work. But to make it work -effectively- you’ll need a few key features. In dungeons/fractals things get a bit more specific, so what does Dom/Dueling offer the PvE Mesmer?

In PvE the name of the game is Phantasms, and Domination/Dueling comes with all the modifiers you need to have your phantasms both hitting hard and critting hard. Empowered Illusions along with Phantasmal Fury will allow you to shred through mobs with ease along with keeping some nice sustained damage on bosses. A smart, trendy Mesmer knows that they need all their accessories for any given occasion, and each Phantasm from Sword to Staff has a place. Open world boss with tons of condis? Let your Staff phantasm shine. Dungeon run with projectiles all over the place? No one says spin-to-win like iWarden (except, maybe, Zerker. But only on trash mobs)

These fabulous figments of your imagination aren’t all you have to offer though. The audience loves a vocal Mesmer and who doesn’t want to hear “Agony, Torment, Pain!” repeated a dozen times over and over again until they’re chanting it in their dreams? Give yourself a healthy 20% damage bonus with Mantra of Pain/Recovery and Harmonious Mantras. Sometimes enemies may not appreciate your style and sass, critcism can be harsh, add a little extra Concentration to the mix when needed.
Know what else is cool? Particle effects! Take your team on a tour through space-time with some clutch distortions during big boss battles. Grab the Inspiration line in all it’s unicorned glory, trait your Signets up in Domation, and grab Signet of Midnight. Now suddenly not only can you do damage, but you’ll have an instant team-wide distortion. (Note: The radius of the AoE distortion is small. Make sure norn and charr don’t smudge your outfit when they invade your personal space)

Link to ideal Dungeon PvE builds

• For Phantasm Builds Dom/Dueling/Illusions

• For support through teamwide Reflects and AoE Distortions rock out with Dom/Dueling/Inspiration

PvP/WvW

Need a build? Don’t wanna think too hard? Look no further than Domination/Dueling for a quick and effective build with little testing needed! What makes Dom/Dueling all the rage with these hipster millenial Mesmer? Well…

• Domination Line only has one bad choice: Rending Shatter. Every other trait can be made effective (with Confoudning/Shattered concentration/Power Block being the most obvious choice). Domination passives give a hefty damage boost through vulnerability manipulation

• Dueling Line offers a lot of awesome options, with Phantasmal Fury/Blinding Dissipation/Deceptive Evasion being totally in this season. If you’re going for the gunslinger vibe, Duelists Discipline is the pickles and the sause for anyone sporting a pistol.

• Want a super 1-shot burst? Grab a greatsword and go Dom/Dueling with the above-mentioned traits. Enemies crying and flipping craps about you and your OPness is totally in these days!

Grabbing Domination and Dueling may make you feel bland. I mean, who wants to walk outside and see someone else wearing the same outfit as them? Luckily for you, you can take this standard setup and add your own sense of style. (Preferably of the Chaos and Inspiration variety. Illusions line can be a bit… lacking without some creativity and skill.)

INSPIRATION

• Medic’s Feedback works wonders with Runes of Mercy for superfast rezzing.

• Restorative Illusions offers sustain to keep you alive longer than most other Dom/Dueling builds.

• Don’t underestimate Mental Defense! The defense it offers (plus some shatter fodder) can be the difference between you standing around showing off or dragging yourself off the stage in shame.

CHAOS

• Perma-protection possible with Chaotic Dampening and Null Field.

• Every single grandmaster is fantastic!

• Master of Manipulation works well with Evasive Mirror and the Mirror heal.

ILLUSIONS

• Go retro with a Phantasmal flow! Add a scepter and Phantasmal haste along with offhand Sword/Scepter. (Furious interruption loooves scepter+pistol)

• Condition Builds benefit from Ineptitude and Blinding Dissipation along with Maimed the disillusioned (Scepter attack speed trait is bugged and does not work)

• Shatter builds…. Master of Frag ain’t worth what you’d lose from Inspiration/Chaos

SAMPLE BUILDS/VIDS

… Incoming! (Feel free to post yours!)

TL;DR: For any Mesmer having trouble making a build with the new system. Start with Domination/Dueling as a strong base for experimenting and branch out from there. It helps to have a solid foundation before theorycrafting in order to compare and contrast your work with the established builds.

Master of Manipulation works with Evasive Mirror!?

OMGWTFBBQ

Embolism long time no see. And try casting Mirror under Master of Manipulation and then dodging. You can get a mean 6s reflect.

Still experimenting with Condi mes?

I try. This is what I’m currently working with.

Sorry, no Domination here. =P

Domination and Dueling have always been the top of the food chain for damage (like back in the days having 6/6/x/x/x). Having at least master level traits in both was sort of a safe choice (and yeah, I know there have been different meta builds for dungeons back in the day, that could get around using Domination traits).

While I personally got both of them active in PvE in pretty much any trait setup, it doesn’t feel like much has changed.

Maybe I have just been playing the mesmer in PvE for too long…